We serve cookies

Our website uses cookies, which help us to improve our site and enables us to deliver the best possible service and customer experience, as well as to provide social media features. By clicking accept you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy

Analytical cookies collect data anonymously, about how visitors use our site and how it performs. We use this to improve our products, services and user experience.

Advertising

Advertising, or Marketing, cookies track visitors across websites with the intention of displaying ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user. Please note that opting out will not affect the amount of ads you see but they will be less relevant to you.

Social Sharing

Social sharing cookies allow you to share certain pages on our website on social media.

Stricly Necessary

Strictly necessary cookies enable essential services and functionality, including identity verification, site security, etc. Opt out is not available.

This is one of the popular early to mid 19th century birth/baptismal certificates, known as "Geburts und Taufschein", 16 1/2" by 13 3/4" in thin strip framing, printed by G.S. Peters of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the name of the child and the parents written by hand along with other details such as place and date of birth. In this case the parents are William and Margarethe Bitzer (nee Harvey), and the child, named Michael Bitzer, was born in Greene Township, Ross County, Ohio (near Chillicothe in the south-central part of the state). The baptism was by Rev. Paster and the witnesses were Jacob Fredric and wife Elizabeth. Date of birth, curiously, is given as October 2, 1805; I think this certificate would have been printed several decades later, so I feel it possible this might be a replacement of some kind. Most of these certificates have later dates, to the 1830's or 1840's or even later. The condition has been somewhat compromised by long contact with acid-leaching cardboard backing, and there are two major horizontal folds, as well as various other flaws such as tiny paper losses in the folds, discolorations, and handling creases----all of which, to me, add to the history of the piece.